Powys building could become three flats as plans approved
Planning permission for a project regarding a building on Church Street, Welshpool, has been granted as the plans involve renovating two existing flats within the building as well as creating one new apartment.
The plans would separate the first and second floors of the building, demolish a rear extension and make internal alterations to create the extra apartment, outlined in plans that were submitted to the council in November 2024 and were approved on July 1.
A planning statement, prepared by Hughes Architects on behalf of client Glenn Rowles, said: 'The proposals aim to convert the existing first and second floors into 3 residential units, with small facilitating works to the ground floor in order to create a new access stair.
'The proposals aim to utilise all of the existing openings, and therefore the alterations to the elevations will be minimal and limited to minor repair work where required.
'The proposal aims to retain as much of the original fabric as possible and all the works will be contained within the existing footprint of the property. As mentioned above, alterations to the front will be minimal, to the rear, a small existing extension will be removed in order to facilitate the creation of a new access, however, this extension is a later addition and therefore the impact on significant fabric will be minimal.
'This will also allow for the new access to be created within the existing footprint of the building, rather than creating a 'bolt on' structure like has been done previously, which will not detract from the existing elevation.
'Although the property is overall in good condition, the layout will need partitioning to divide the space into 3no residential units, and the existing fabric will need to be upgraded in order to meet modern needs as well as achieve Building Regulation compliance.'
The building is Grade II listed and located within the Welshpool Conservation Area, but Powys County Council's Built Heritage Officer commented on the proposal.
In the delegated report the officer said: 'A site visit has been made. It is considered the property would benefit from the works proposed, the present layout being somewhat disjointed.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
7 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Powys Council Welshpool Berriew Street housing plan backed
Welshpool's 'significant high demand' for social housing has driven the need to give more than three quarters of a town centre car park over for housing. Powys County Council's Economy Residents and Communities scrutiny committee meeting on Wednesday, July 9, received a report about plans to give over a large part of Berriew Street car park for homes. The car park currently has 450 spaces, which would fall to 56 spaces if the plans went ahead. Deputy council leader and cabinet member for housing Cllr Matthew Dorrance (Labour) said: 'The council has set itself a target of achieving 350 homes for social rent by 2031 and we've identified that Welshpool is an area where we have significantly high demand for social housing but where land for development is in short supply. 'Working across service areas we have identified this area that could be offered up to develop social housing.' The report said 414 households on the housing register that have Welshpool as their first choice with a further 239 households having the town as their second choice. The council is working with 33 homeless households in temporary accommodation in Welshpool, where the average stay before they are homed is 370 days. In addition to this there are 31 'live' homelessness cases with a further 20 presentations to the council from the villages and towns around Welshpool. The cost of transferring the car park from the council's highways, transport and recycling department to housing is £280,000 while the market value would be £525,000. Cllr Corinna Kenyon-Wade (Liberal Democrat) said: 'My worry is the regulations ,it sounds great that you can hand this over to the HRA (Housing Revenue Account) who arrives at these figures?' Head of housing Andy Thompson explained that the figures were based on calculations in terms of how much developing houses to be sold at market value would be worth and the difference in building ones that are for social renting. Committee chairwoman, Cllr Angela Davies (Liberal Democrat) asked for more reassurance. Mr Thompson said: 'It meets the legal requirements; it will generate a capital receipt. 'It's a bit like Volkswagen selling things to Skoda when they are part of the same company.' He pointed out that Clive Pinney the council's head of legal services and monitoring officer had received the report had backed the scheme. 'It would not have come to members I can assure you, if there was any risk that this is not in full compliance to the law,' stressed Mr Thompson. Cllr Liz Rijnenberg (Labour) added: 'It's great that we can get 32 homes to reduce that (waiting) list.' Cllr Peter Lewington (Conservative) while being supportive of the project, stressed that he wanted a more 'balanced picture' to be reported so that the loss of car parking spaces on Welshpool town centre businesses could be analysed. The committee supported the scheme which will go in front of senior Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, July 15 for a decision.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Plans submitted to council for new wedding venue in Powys
Plans have been submitted to create a new wedding venue in Powys. Powys County Council will consider plans put forward to create a space for a new wedding venue in Trefeglwys. The plans would see a section of Bodaioch Hall, which is used as farm and as a highly regarded holiday home rental, being converted to 'hold weddings and events predominantly over the summer months throughout the year'. In the application by D J Lloyd & Co, the current site 'comprises a segment of an existing agricultural complex and field'. In the planning statement it claims that 'the existing agricultural building is not capable of conversion to the proposed use and so the site will be redeveloped to support the holding in a new guise. 'The existing agricultural business has established Bodaioch Hall as a luxury holiday unit which supports the agricultural business. The proposed development will compliment the holiday business and secure the future of the agricultural business.' According to the application it had been considered to convert the remaining range of agricultural buildings at Bodaioch Hall but 'on inspection these were considered not suitable for conversion due to their rudimentary structural form'. Help support trusted local news Sign up for a digital subscription now: As a digital subscriber you will get Unlimited access to the County Times website Advert-light access Reader rewards Full access to our app It has been proposed that the development will therefore 'consist of a new building which is designed to reflect an agricultural building conversion and similar commercial buildings in the locality'. It adds that 'the existing vehicular entrance that serves the residential site will be utilised to access the proposed development'. The application goes on to argue that the development would 'provide a significant economic boost Mid-Wales as well as promoting economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits including job creation, support for local businesses, increased enjoyment and recognition of the area'. 'The proposal fundamentally complies with the overarching national planning policies that relate to tourism developments, together with the tourism policies of the adopted Local Development Plan," it concludes.
Powys County Times
2 days ago
- Powys County Times
Powys council pilot sees farmers work 36 acres near Newtown
FARMERS have started work on three new plots near Newtown to test whether Powys land can be used to grow fruit and vegetables holistically on a commercial scale. Between them they are working 36 acres of Powys County Council -owned land in Sarn. The Sarn Farms project will be used to supply produce to local markets, schools in Wales and, possibly in future, nearby cities such as Birmingham. The successful applicants, who all come from Powys or the nearby border areas, were selected based on their business plans and former growing experience. 'The work at Sarn is a pilot, that we hope can be replicated across the county on land owned by the council and by private individuals, as part of a much bigger programme,' said Councillor Jake Berriman, leader of Powys County Council (PCC). 'We want to see more of the fruit and vegetables we eat grown here in Powys, so we can cut our food miles, improve our food security and with it create more resilient farming communities and more jobs. 'We are already great at livestock and dairy farming in Powys, but we could also become great at growing vegetables and grains here too.' The farmers will work collaboratively to provide a local veg box scheme, as well as developing individual enterprises. Plans include selling organic vegetables to wholesalers and salad crops to local cafés and restaurants, supplying seeds to the Wales Seed Hub, selling vegetable, herb and tree seedlings, along with fruit and eggs, offering beehive building and food preparation courses, and selling kimchis, chutneys and other prepared foods at local markets. The farmers also plan to incorporate agroforestry and a small number of livestock, along with woodchip and biochar production, to increase soil health and fertility, manage pests and create a more closed-loop system, with little or no need for external inputs such as compost and fertilisers. The project is being delivered by the Future Farms Partnership which includes Powys and Carmarthenshire County Councils, Our Food 1200 and Social Farms & Gardens. The site includes three temporary homes, which received planning permission under new guidance issued last year by the local authority. The guidance supports the installation of temporary dwellings as part of small-scale horticultural enterprises. More than £500,000 in funding has been provided by the Welsh Government (£270,000), the UK Government (£341,000) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund (£20,000). 'Agroecological horticulture produces a substantial amount of food on a relatively small amount of land,' said Our Food 1200 director Duncan Fisher. 'But until now, the big barrier has been the lack of housing for the farmers, who need to be onsite full time. 'With the council's new planning guidance in place, the next stage in Powys is to scale this up, with more land and more housing, to open up many more opportunities for talented new entrants to farming.' Social Farms & Gardens joint Wales manager, Alison Sheffield, added: 'As an organisation that's been supporting communities to farm, garden and grow together for over 40 years, it's been exciting for us to take a lead role in this pilot. 'We know we need more veg grown in our country to meet our nutritional needs and opening up more land for opportunities for local people is essential to help us on this journey.'
